Ernie Els just had the worst start in Masters history

Ernie Els opened up his Thursday round at the Masters in historic fashion: a 10 on the par-4 1st hole, the worst tally on the first hole in the history of the tournament, according to ESPN.

The Big Easy qualified for the Masters by winning the British Open five years ago, the final year the result will qualify him. His game has struggled of late to the point that he has fallen out of the top 50 in the rankings. It's quite possible that this will be Els' last Masters, particularly if he continues to putt like a below-average weekend golfer.

Let's take a look at his disastrous first hole. He missed six putts, so it wasn't as though his high mark came from a shanked drive or a shot off a tree. This was, simply put, atrociously poor putting.

Take a look:

Come on, Ernie!Now, the greens at Augusta are notoriously difficult, like putting on glass. The wind has also picked up on the course this afternoon. Still, nobody in Masters history has ever putted this poorly to begin the tournament.

NOW WATCH: Two of the world's best cliff divers jumped off the world's largest waterfall

Please enable Javascript to watch this video